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Hello Birding-Ausers,
Especially those in or near Woody Point, Redcliffe, South East
Queensland.
Because of the claims made early this year of sightings of the South Island
Pied Oystercatcher (SIPO) at Manly Boat Harbour (Brisbane) I have been
checking-out the Pied Oystercatchers (POs) that are a regular attraction at my
'home-town' beach at Woody Point.
Manly Boat Harbour is just below the horizon to the south of Woody Point.
Woody Point is a far more salubrious area than Manly Boat Harbour :-) so I
reason that if SIPOs are at Manly then they will surely turn up at Woody
Point.
Having read Mike Carter's detailed and illustrated articles in the highly
desirable and, in fact, essential Australian Birding Magazine (editions Vol 4 No
4 and Vol 5 No 1) along with HANZAB Vol 2, ( well... mainly the pictures of
POs), Shorebirds (Hayman, et al) and all of the current Australian field
guides (which are totally useless in this case) I felt sure I would be able to
pick out the SIPO from the bunch.
I have been mainly checking an area in the vicinity of the Humpybong Yacht
Club.
(Humpybong means 'dead hut' and refers to the deserted buildings left
behind by the European settlers when they left the site of the first settlement
in Queensland having been driven out by the mossies. The people moved a few
miles away to the site of what is now Brisbane. The mossies are still causing
trouble at Redcliffe!)
GPS reading: 27 deg 15 min 46 sec South; 153 deg 6 min 7 sec East.
This particular spot is near the outlet of a stormwater drain and seems to
be a favoured high water 'resting' area for gulls, terns, waders (in season) and
oystercatchers.
In recent weeks there have been up to 40 Pied Oystercatchers on the beach
at Woody Point.
Until 22/5/200 I was satisfied that all of the POs I have seen so far were
Australian Pied Oystercatchers (OZPOs).
However on that date I noted some POs that displayed some (!) of the
supposed characteristics of the SIPO.
On 22/5/2000 I observed (at the spot described above) a group of 12
POs.
This group was resting just above the tide line.
All of these birds appeared to be approximately the same body size.
There did appear to be a variation in bill lengths; a couple had bills that
appeared to be about 10 percent longer than the average of the others.
Some birds were standing and some were sitting.
At least one standing bird appeared to have shorter legs than the others,
i.e., the tibia appeared to be very short.
However, I believe this was possibly an illusion caused by the way the bird
was standing.
It was possible to see parts of the back patterns of some birds; some birds
had the truncated white of the OZPO but a couple of birds appeared to have
extensive white on the back in the manner described for SIPO.
During the time I observed these birds they remained virtually stationary;
none of this group flew so I was not able to observe the wing-bar in
flight.
A short distance to the north of this group there was a solitary PO.
Being on its own I was not able to accurately gauge its relative
size.
This bird was more wary than the others and took flight when I was at a
greater distance than I had been from the other birds.
I was able to observe the wing-bar on this bird; the wing-bar appeared to
be longer than OZPO but was very narrow, about half the width of OZPO and SIPO.
The white on the back appeared to be more extensive than for OZPO.
The bird flew out of sight.
I am not claiming to have seen a South Island Pied Oystercatcher.
Instead, I am asking the following questions:
1) How were the SIPOs at Manly Boat Harbour identified?
Were they identified by the leg length?
I suspect this is not a reliable characteristic as I
believe that POs often stand in a 'hunched' posture causing the tibia to be
completely covered by body
feathers and causing the legs to look short. The bird
can also appear smaller by standing 'lower'.
2) Is the white on the back of OZPO always truncated in the manner
described in HANZAB and by Mike Carter and others?
Is there any variation in this pattern according to the
age of the bird?
3) Is there any noticeable variation in bill lengths of OZPO such that the
longest is similar to the shortest in SIPO.
4) Is the 'patch' or 'panel' of white in the wings of standing birds a
reliable diagnostic feature; I have observed this patch/panel surrounded by
black in
the wings of some standing OZPOs.
5) What are the most reliable field diagnostic points of SIPO compared to
OZPO.
6) Are there any photos of the Manly Boat Harbour SIPOs in the public
domain?
Finally, would people visiting Woody Point please take particular note of
the POs.
If anyone actually sees a SIPO there (or something that might be a SIPO)
would they please contact me on (07) 3284 3197.
Also, if anyone has trouble finding the spot call me on the above number
and , if it is convenient, I will assist.
Note: there can be a lot of people in the area on weekends.
Have fun
Bob Inglis
Woody Point, SEQld
e-mail:
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